Page 18

We didn’t have to wait in line after all. Elise talked to the bodyguard at the front, and he let the three of us in without even looking at our IDs. When I walk into the club, a wave of heat hits me. I’m glad I left my cardigan in Felix’s car, or else I’d be sweating right now. People are sweaty even when they don’t have much on as they grind against each other and sing along to the music that is blasting through the speakers.
The club really does have purple velvet couches along the sides and metallic purple tables, just like its name says. The lights are purple, and disco balls hanging from the ceiling reflect the spotlights, making balls of light dance around the room. I bite my lip to keep from smiling. I’ve never been in a room with this much purple, and lavender is my favorite color. Felix sees me smile and pulls on my arm. “Come on, let’s dance!”
I get pulled through a lot of people until I’m in the middle of the dance floor with the twins on either side of me. I’m nervously swaying in the middle of them at first, but when Elise starts grinding on my back, I jump forward, which just so happens to be right into Felix. “Oh, um, I’m sorry. Elise pushed—” I stop talking when he puts his hands on my waist and pulls me forward so that I’m pressed against his chest. I put my hands on his chest to steady myself. Elise pushes herself against my back and starts to sway to the music. Her little black dress doesn’t leave much to the imagination, and I’m feeling more scandalous because she’s dancing so close to me and on me.
My face must be a mess of red, and I’m glad the lights are low in here. I see that a lot of other people are dancing the same way as me right now. I feel so awkward and self-conscious, but the twins seem to be having a great time dancing around me. “Calm down, Calla,” Felix says in my ear. He has to talk kind of loudly so that I can hear him over the bass, but I can still hear him. It doesn’t help me calm down, though. Not at all.
“Don’t think, just listen to the music and react.” He says this while swaying to the music, which makes me sway with him. I try to stop my mind from racing and dance, even though I’m breathing a little harder than normal. Since I’m not used to this kind of place, it makes sense that I would feel a little uneasy at first. Then, like a gift from the sky, Tones & I’s song “Dance Monkey” comes on and I scream with joy. This song is great! As I sing the words, my hips naturally sway from side to side, and Elise does the same. I don’t feel claustrophobic anymore, even though I’m stuck between the two of them.
I forget that I’m in a club that’s hot and sweaty. I don’t remember the fight I had with my mom. I forgot how angry Jaxon will be when I tell him what happened tonight. I let go and let my body do the talking as I raise my arms and sway, hop, and move in ways I’ve never done before. After 18 years, I’ve finally figured out that there’s more to life than just reading about it. It’s a whole different thing to go through it.
We all have to wait thirty minutes before we are all covered in a sheen of sweat. I yell at Felix and Elise that I need water, then I leave them to get a drink.
I walk over to the bar and try to sit down in the last empty barstool. I have to hold on to the edge of the counter and jump as high as I can to get my b**t to the same level as the stool. The first time I tried, I missed it because I’m so short. I got in the seat on my second jump.
The bartender saw that I had failed and tried to hold back his laughter, but I could still see the corners of his lips turn up. I give him the best evil look I can by squinting my eyes at him. He puts his hands up to show that he gives up. “Sorry. But that was cute.” He winks at me, grabs a glass and a washcloth, and starts cleaning it while talking to me. “Where’s your man?” he asks.
“I don’t have a man. Why do I need one?” I ask, tired of these arrogant guys who think I need to be claimed. Earlier, Jaxon said something like that. Why can’t I go out without a guy on my shoulder? It just doesn’t add up for me. I’m here to have fun with friends and dance without worrying about men or relationships. Well, Felix doesn’t count.
The guy just raises an eyebrow at me and asks, “Do you know where you are?” I’m about to answer when Felix puts an arm around my shoulder and leans into me, staring at the bartender who was keeping me entertained before. “I would stop talking to her if I were you or else…” I’m too busy looking at the bartender’s scared face to see what Felix is doing. I see a flash of blue in the man’s eyes. I turn to Felix quickly, but all I can see now are the purple lights from the spotlights above us. Did I just make that up?
I slowly pull Felix’s arm away from my shoulder. “Felix, it’s okay. He wasn’t doing anything wrong,” I say to try to calm him down. He looks upset for some reason. He looks at me with his dark brown eyes and smiles a little, but I can tell it’s fake. “But he hasn’t done anything bad yet.”
“Oh my god! You sound more and more like Jaxon every second!” I say, or more like scream out of frustration because the club is so loud. Felix’s eyes get really big, and he holds onto my arm tightly. “Did you say Jaxon? Like Jaxon Rowan?”
“Ouch, Felix! You’re hurting me!” I yell, but he just pulls me off the barstool and closer to the dancers.
“I’m sorry, Calla. But this is very important. Is that who you meant? Do you know him?”
I’m freaking out because his whole body is so intense, so I pull away from him as hard as I can while my eyes fill with tears. “Yes! Is that what you want to know? We’ve been hanging out, but nothing serious has happened, okay? Not that it’s any of your business!”
He looks hurt, which gives me the chance I need to leave. But I can see Elise, and she looks like she wants to ask me something, just like Felix did a few seconds ago. I make a split-second choice to run through the crowd and get lost in the sweaty dancers who look like they’re having the time of their lives. Felix is calling my name, but I can barely hear it. I bury myself deeper until I reach the other side of the dance floor. I see a door, and without even thinking about where it goes, I run into it and end up standing on gravel.
It’s cold outside, but I don’t notice because my heart is racing so fast. I knew this was wrong. I shouldn’t have come here with Felix and Elise. But the strange thing is that I was having fun until they started acting strange. They both became so aggressive all of a sudden that it scared me to death.
I take my phone out of my bag and call an Uber. There’s no way I’m going to get in a car with them after tonight. A voice stops me from clicking “order Uber.” I jump and drop my phone flat on the ground. A little squeak comes out of my mouth as I look up at the biggest man I’ve ever seen, other than Jaxon. This guy is over six feet tall and has slicked-back blonde hair and pale skin. His ruby red eyes, not his bulging muscles or the sneer on his face, are the most shocking thing about him. His eyes say “danger.” I instinctively back away from him, but then I remember that I’m in a dead end.
I put my hands up in front of me to protect myself, but I knew that if this man wanted to hurt me, I wouldn’t be able to get away. “Please, I don’t want any trouble,” I say.
His laugh is the scariest sound I’ve ever heard, and it makes me want to hide. He steps closer to me and says, “What if that’s what I want?” I can feel my heart racing faster than ever because I know I might not make it out of here alive. My fear only seems to make him more excited. His smile gets bigger and bigger as he gets more excited. That’s when I see them—his teeth have… Fangs? What the heck?
This situation makes me feel confused, scared, angry, and frustrated. Fear wins, but not before I ask him something. “W-what are y-you?”
The man is suddenly right in front of me. He moved so quickly that all I could see was a blur of colors before he grabbed my arms above my head with one hand. He has a tight grip on my chin with his other hand. I scream as loud as I can, hoping that someone will hear me and help me. I really don’t want to play the damsel, but that’s all I can do right now. When my head hits the brick wall, it hurts a lot in my left cheek. The pain is spreading through my whole head now, and I can feel a big headache coming on. He just hit me.
The man holds my face even tighter and gets really close to it. “Don’t say a word, little girl. I might let you live. Now, I want to ask you some questions. Do you know Jaxon Rowan?”
What is wrong with this person? He told me not to make any noise, and now he wants me to talk to him? I can’t answer him because I’m scared and still remember how much it hurt when he hit me. I keep breathing heavily, but I make myself not panic.
This is like something I’ve read about in the books I read a lot. I never thought I would be the girl in trouble, waiting for a kind stranger to come to my rescue. I really wish Felix would come storming out of the club and scare the man with red eyes away. Or even better, I hope Jaxon comes to save me and take me away from here. Maybe then I can finally ask him why so many people keep asking me if I know him. I had no idea he was this well-liked.
A sharp pain shoots through my left side again, and my lip breaks. A metallic taste fills my mouth, and I hate the taste of my own blood. But as the man collects the blood that has dripped from his finger, his red eyes get darker. He brings it to his mouth and sucks on it, closing his eyes as he drinks the blood like it’s a delicious treat.
“Wow, you taste so good. I don’t think I can let you go now.”
“Hold on!” I yell, moving my head as far away from him as I can. I don’t mind that the back of my head is scraping against the brick wall I’m being held against. I care about this vampire guy who wants to eat me! I’ll tell him anything at this point. “Please don’t hurt me! You wanted to know about Jaxon? I’ll tell you anything you want to know!”
The vampire grins at my lie. Of course I wouldn’t do that to Jaxon. This guy is clearly insane. Jaxon would never be able to beat him because he is so fast and strong. But if I can buy some time, I hope that someone who walks by will see me and call the police.
“Okay, little girl. How much does he care about you?”
What?
His laugh shakes me to my core again, and I know he can read my mind. “It’s okay, girl. I’ll tell you. I think you mean everything to him. Hurting you would make him fall apart. Finally, the f*****g Alpha can be destroyed, and I’ll be the one to do it.”
One second I can only see his red eyes, and the next second he’s being pulled away from me by… A bear? As the creature bites, growls, and scratches the man, all I can see is black fur and claws. I can hear him grunt in pain, and then I hear a soft whine as he kicks the creature and runs away faster than The Flash.
My knees give out as I slide down the brick wall and hit my b**t hard. I don’t even know I’m crying until I see that the world looks cloudy and distorted to me. I can see the dark creature coming toward me through my tears.